Cooling-system control



B. W. BROCKETT.

Patented J an. 27, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

B. w. BROCKETT.

COOLING SYSTEM QONTROL APPLICATION FILED MAR. a. 1911. 1,328,815,Patented Jan. 27, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Ni? "p GENERATOR 1222/5 zzzazi BLUFORD W. BROCKETT, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

COOLING- SYSTEM CON TROL,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'I, BLUFORD W. BROOK- ETT, citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in, the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cooling-System-Controls, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cooling s stems for internal combustionengines, an more particulafly to such engines when used on motorvehicles.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved system of thiskind which can be applied to any automobile engine at low cost, which iscapable of delicate regulation, and which preferably employs electricaleneipgy for producing variation in the cooling e ect upon the engine. Afurther ob ect of the invention is to provide a system of this kindincluding a thermostat or heat responsive device whose energy isutilized to make and break an electrical circuit for producing avariation in the cooling effect, and Whlc thermostat may include, as.one of its members, the water manifold commonly employed for conductingheated water'from the engine to the radiator. A further object of theinvention is to utilize for the production of electric energy a circuitwhich is closed only while the engine is running, whereby, upon stoppingof the engine, said circuit is broken, with the inevitable result ofpromptly closing a shutter to restrict the circulation of air throughthe radiator and thereby protect said radiator.

Further objects of the invention are in part obvious and in part willappear more in detail hereinafter.

The invention comprises the construction and arrangement of partshereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, which represent one embodiment of the invention, Figure1 is a side elevation, partly broken out and in section, illustratingthe invention applied to an internal combustion engine; F 1g. 2 is adetail longitudinal section, illustratin a portion of the thermostat andthe electrical contact devices controlled thereby; Fig. 3

is a detailed section of the electrical motor means for actuatingthe'shutter; Fig. 4 is a detail elevation, on a larger scale, of a portionof the thermostat; and Fig. 5 is a dia rammatic view of the electricalcircuits.

eferring to the drawings, ,'1 indicates a Specification oflettersPatent.

Patented Jan. 27, 1920.

Application filed March a, 1917. Serial No. 153,449.

suitable internal combustion engine, which may be of any type orconstruction, and as illustrated is a six cylinder engine of commonform. Said engine is provided with the usual water jacket, the cavitiesor spaces in which communicate through branch pipes 2 with a watermanifold 4, referably made of copper, brass, or some -ot er materialexpansible by heat, and which manifold conducts the water heated by theengine to the upper portion of the radiator 5, from which the cool waterreturns to the engine water jacket by way of pipe 6 as is usual.

Suitable means is provided for varying the cooling effect upon thecirculating water by the radiator, so as to substantially maintain thewater or other liquid in the engine acket at uniform temperature. Thisresult may be secured b by-passing a portion of the water aroun theradiator when the temperature of the water is low, or otherwise varyingthe water circulation, as is Well known and common in the art,thevariation in the water circulation being controlled by a valve.Preferably, however, the variation in the cooling effect is produced bythe provision of means for more or less interru ting the flow of airthrough'or past the radiator. The -means shown comprises a shutter orscreen, similar to a hot air furnace radiator, and comprising a seriesof vanes or win 7 pivoted at 8 to a stationary frame and iii ing arms 9pivotally connected 'to a verticallymoving rod or bar 10. As said bar orrod is elevated or depressed the vanes open or close. When the shutteris closed the circulation of air through the radiator is cut off so thatthere is practically no cooling efl'ect, but as saidshutter opens thecooling effect is more or less increased to a maximum.

Said shutter is'actuated by electric motor means, which may be of anysuitable form net or solenoid 11, whose coils are in a circuit to bedescribed. Said'solenoid, when energized, attracts the core 12 attachedto a rod 13 connected by a link 14 to, one arm of a lever 15 pivoted at16 to the frame,

and whose other arm 17 is connected to the rod or bar 10. A tensionspring 18 connected to lever arm 15 and to a fixed point normally tendsto close the shutter. The movement of the solenoid core is preferablsteadied or regulated b suitable dash plt for which purpose sai core isconnected by a rod 19 to a doubled faced piston 20 traveling in acylinder 21. The chambers on opposite faces of the piston communicate bya by-pass channel 22, which may be more or less restricted to vary thedash pit effect by. a re lating valve 23.-

i As will appear hereinafter, the circuit to the coils of solenoid 11 isalways broken when the engine is in-a state of rest. Consequently whenthe engine is not running the position of the parts is as indicated inFigs. 1 and 3, the core 12 being held away from the solenoid by thetension of spring 18, which spring a result of which the radiator isalways 15 protected when the engine is in a state of rest.

Fig. 5 illustrates the electric circuit for controlling the su ply ofcurrent to the solenoid coil'll. s is usual, the circuits are .allgrounded upon the metal body of the automobile. 24 indicates thegenerator, which, as usual, is coupled to be driven by the engine. Saidgenerator is in a circuit 25 passing through the point 26 to thecombination switch 27, thence throu h wire 28 and ammeter 29 to thestorage. attery 30,

for charging said battery, The movable member of the combination switch27 is pulled out when the engine is started, and not only connects theshutter to the storage battery, but also completes a circuit to the.

wire 31 leading to the i ition coil. The circuit for the coil 11 of t esolenoid is connected to the point 26 of the battery charging circuit,and passes from said coil through the switch contacts 32 and 33 to theground. The making and breakin of the solenoid circuit is controlled bya t ermostat which actuates or controls the con- It will be apparentthat no current can flow through the solenoid 11, either from theenerator or from the storage battery, 'un ess the switch 27 is'closed.This switch is always closed by the driver before starting the engineand is opened whenever the enine is stopped to avoid loss of current511011 h the lgnition system. Consequently the so enoid coil is alwaysdeener ized when 601 118 engine is stopped, thereby al owing the spring18 to promptly close the shutter.

Any suitab e thermostat may be provided for controlling the electricalcontacts 32, 33. Said thermostat may be sensitive to variations in thetemperature of the cooling water, by exposing the expansible member of'the thermostat to the cooling water, or may be made sensitive tovariations in the temperature of the engine itself, or of the air withinthe engine hood or casing. The drawings illustrate one suitableconstruction for this purpose. As illustrated the thermostat comprisestwo members, one of which is the water manifold 4 which is made of '6material expansible by heat and therefore also closes the shutter, as

the engine warms u tacts 32 and 33, in a manner to be described.

member coti perates with an expansible member, shown as a pencil or rod34, which may be made of carbon or any other inexpansible material.Saidrod at one end engages an abutment 35 fixed to the engine manifoldand at its other end abuts one end of a rod 36 passing through an openinin a bridgewall 37 of a casing 38 screwe to a boss 39 i 5 carried by theengine manifold. The carbon pencil may be protected against injury by asuitable jacket 40. Rod 36, on one side i of the wall 37, is providedwith a collar 41 forming an abutment for the compression spring 42 heldin place by a casing cap 43. The length of said rod may be regulated byturning the milled head 33, which has threaded-connection with a portionof said rod. This head forms one of the contacts 35 of the solenoidcontrolling switch before referred to, and bylits contact with othermetallic parts of the apparatus provides connection of said switch toground. It 00- operates with the spring contact 32- attached 0 to abindin post 44 to which the lead wire from the so enoid coil may beconnected.

I With the arrangement described, when the temperature of the coolingwater 'or the space within the hood 45 is low the enginemanifold-4contracts and pushes the carbon pencil 34 tov the right inFig. 2, against the pressure of spring 42, consequently breaking theelectrical connections between the con-v tacts 32 and 33. The circuit tothe solenoid is therefore broken and the shutter is held closed by aspring 18. This isalways the condition when the engine is. cold. Whenand the temperature of the cooling water rises to or sli htly above acritical temperature, the mani old 4 expands longitudinally, allowingthe spring contacts 32, 33, and energizing said solenoid,

which moves over the core 12 and opens the shutter. A cooling efiectwilltherefore be produced b a flow of air through the radiator, said e ectcontinuing until the tempera- 15' ture of-the cooling water has fallenbelow the critical point, when the manifold 4 will have contracted andagain broken the circuit.

One particular advantage of this construction is the prompt closing ofthe shutter whenever the engine is stopped, due to the fact that theswitch 27 is then opened. Consequently, irrespective of whether thesolenoid circuit is closed or open through contacts 32, 33, the flow ofenergy to the solenoid 11'.ceases, and the spring 18 closes the shutter.It will, of course, be understood that the. inventionis not limited tothe particular construction illustrated, but is capable of considerablemodification within the scope of the appended claims without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. The combination of an internalcombustion motor, a cooling system therefor including a radiator, meansfor interrupting the flow of air to said radiator, a source ofelectrical energy connected to a circuit when the motor is running,motor means under the control of said circuit for operating saidinterrupting means, and a device responsive to heat conditions of themotor for controlling said circuit. 7 a

2. The combination of an internal combustion motor, a cooling systemtherefor in-- cluding a radiator, means for interrupting the flow of airto said radiator, a source of electric energy connected to a circuitonly when the engine is running, motor means under the control of saidcircuit for operating said interrupting means, and a device responsiveto the heat condition of the en-. gine for opening and closing saidcircuit.

3. The combination of an internal combustion motor, a cooling systemtherefor in-' cluding a radiator, means for interrupting the flow of airto said radiator, a source of electric energy connected to a circuitonly when the engine is running, means normally tending to operate theinterrupting means to [prevent the flow of air to the radiator, motormeans under the control of said circuit for operating said interruptingmeans, and av device responsive to the heat condition of the motor forcontrollingv said circuit.

4. The combination of an internal combustion motor, a cooling systemtherefor including a radiator, a shutter for interrupting the flow ofair to said radiator, means normally tending to close said shutter,electrically operated motor means for opening said shutter, a circuitconnected with a source of electric energy only when the engine isrunning, said circuit being connected to the electrical motor means foractuating the shutter, and means responsive to heat condition forcontrolling said circuit.

5. The combination of an internal combustion motor, a coolin systemtherefor including a radiator, a utter for interrupt ing the flow of airto said radiator, means normally tending to close said shutter,electrically operated 'motor means for opening said shutter, a circuitconnected with a source of electric energy only when the engine isrunning, said circuit being connected to the electrical motor means foractuating the shutter, and a thermally controlled contact device forcontrolling said circuit.

6, The combination of an internal combustion motor, a cooling systemtherefor in- .Cluding a radiator, a shutter for interrupting the flow ofair tov said radiator, and a thermostatic dev ce for controlling saidshutter and com' rising a Water manifold for said motor hii'ing movementresponsive to heat conditions of the motor, and another element outsideof the water manifold adapted to. be affected thereby for producingmovement to control the operation of said shutter.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

BLUFORD W. BROOKETT.

